Coolest Stuff to do This Summer: Kiteboarding

0shared this

0shared this

0

Kiteboarding CampWaves, North CarolinaYou've heard of kite flying and you've heard of wakeboarding. Put them together and you have kiteboarding — the hot new sport that's exactly what it sounds like. Kiteboarders ride on a board towed behind a boat, much like wakeboarding. The difference is you are also harnessed into a large kite or parachute that you control using your upper body.

Kiteboarding is an exhilarating full body workout. Your lower body controls the board and the upper body steers the kite, making for a great core workout. Sounds tough, but different sizes of kites allow women of any size or ability level to join the fun (and women do — 30 percent of the 500,000 kiteboarders worldwide are women). What's more, this sport can be done anywhere -— on the ocean, on a lake, in snow, and even on land.

The best way to learn to kiteboard is with trained instructors at a kite camp. One of our favorites is Real Kite Camp in Waves, NC. Check out the Real Riding Girls Camp, a 3-day camp that teaches you kite handling, then skiing, then combines them, and before you know it, you're cruising over the water of North Carolina's Outer Banks. ($1,195 for 3-day kite camp and gear rentals; realkiteboarding.com)